Strangely, this was an Alfred Hitchcock film that I had never ever seen. Starring James Stewart and Doris Day, it was an implausible but fun story without any real violence. Doris Day was particularly good, even getting the chance to sing "Que Sera, Sera" towards the end.
Chicken Run
I can't remember if I actually went to see Chicken Run when it first appeared in cinemas in the year 2000. But I must have seen all the Aardman films over the years. This was particularly unexceptional, certainly not in the same class as Farmegeddon.
Quartet
Much better was Quartet that I first saw in January 2013. This is what I said at the time.The cinema on a Wednesday afternoon is usually very quiet, but today Screen 6 was packed for a screening of "Quartet". First of all, what we have is a great screenplay. Ronald Harwood has adapted his own successful stage play and for those of us who missed it in the theatre, what we get is such top quality actors who would never have got together on stage. It is a lighthearted and fairly trivial piece about a retirement home for musicians and singers. Surprising that given their advanced years, nobody dies, but this a pastiche about growing old, but very entertaining none the less. Billy Connolly as Wilf is surprisingly good. I know he gets some of the best lines, but his delivery is quiet and understated. Who would have guessed? Tom Courtney, Pauline Collins and Maggie Smith are great and Michael Gambon revels in his over the top performance. Dustin Hoffman directs with aplomb, but how could he go wrong? The stars are almost eclipsed by the setting. Hedsor House and Park near Taplow, Berks has been beautifully filmed.
No comments:
Post a Comment